Pursue
…. and He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
(1 Samuel 30:8, NKJV)
Someone once told me, that some doors do not just open, they need to be pushed. It is normal to expect that on knocking a door, someone will let you in so we wait at the door. If no response is received, one could walk away arguing that there was no one on the insider and this could be true. It is also possible, that the person on the inside did not hear the gentle knock or was not in a position to open the door. This is where we try the handle and push the door to open. While we could have considered the entry impossible, by taking further action of trying the handle and pushing the door open, we gain entry into the space. This is an analogy of many things in life. There are some things we give a gentle or even timid push to and when we do not get the answer that we expect we give up, we tell ourselves that what we were looking for will not materialize. We could very well sit and tell ourselves that we did what was required of us, but I wonder if we would be sincerely convinced that we gave our best shot at the matter. Admittedly, even with our best push, some doors are tightly locked and will not let us in and this we shall only know once we have given a good push.
Our reference verse comes from a moment of defeat for King David. He had gone out with his men and left their families behind, only to get back and find that their wives and children had been taken away by the Amalekites. David and his men were in distress and a sense of defeat engulfed them. They needed the comfort of their families and still understood that a battle with the Amalekites would not be easy. So David decided to check with the Lord if he would succeed in the battle and get their families back. God responded to David, that he should pursue the Amalekites and that he would succeed in rescuing his people. This was a situation where David would have wallowed in loss and misery, as he acknowledged that the enemies were mighty. Instead, we see a man who chooses to go after the enemy so that he could recover all what had been stolen from him. God honoured his courage to pursue and ensured that he got victory. Beloved, there are times we feel so down having suffered losses that we did not expect, some will choose to stay in the loss and sadly even allow that moment of weakness become their identity. We are not those who give up, we are those who rise up and claim that which is ours in Christ Jesus. Our journey is not one of giving up, but it is one of rising again and again. Regardless of the boulders in front of us, our confidence is in the God whom we have known, He whose pleasure it is to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32). We will therefore in moments of loss wait on Him with courage till He strengthens us to take the next step (Psalm 27:14). Yes we may appear like weak children, but we will push through the challenges, for He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Our faith makes us strong for we learn from Abraham, our father of faith that he did not consider the impossible human condition to limit him as far as believing the promise of God, Abraham remained convinced of God’s ability to do the impossible for He had promised (Romans 4:19-20). Beloved, ours is to hold on, to keep the faith knowing that He whom we have believed in is able to do much more than we can ever ask for or imagine. We allow ourselves to push the boundaries of life, refusing to be defined by what seems impossible in human eyes and trusting in the awareness of Him who says that all things are possible. The only caveat is that they are possible to those who believe. For as long as we believe, we know that He will make the impossible possible. We are more than conquerors and we know in the end, we are victorious in Christ Jesus.
Thoughts:
In which areas do you need to consciously follow through?
What has limited your courage to pursue?
How have you experienced God helping you pushing doors open?